{"id":434290,"date":"2011-06-02T00:33:14","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T00:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/02\/software-clues-reveal-mac-thief\/"},"modified":"2011-06-02T00:33:14","modified_gmt":"2011-06-02T00:33:14","slug":"software-clues-reveal-mac-thief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/02\/software-clues-reveal-mac-thief\/","title":{"rendered":"Software clues reveal Mac ‘thief’"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 June 2011<\/span> Last updated at<\/span> 20:33 ET<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

California police recovered a stolen laptop after a software programme sent its owner the suspect’s location and photograph taken on the Mac’s camera.<\/p>\n

Joshua Kaufman, an Oakland interaction designer, reported the theft in March.<\/p>\n

But police only acted on Tuesday after Mr Kaufman’s blog on the theft attracted news media attention.<\/p>\n

Cab driver Muthanna Aldebashi, 27, was charged with felony possession of stolen property. A police spokesman said an initial reported was misfiled.<\/p>\n

“Law enforcement is always looking at technology as a way to be smarter with capturing criminals and solving crimes,” Officer Holly Joshi told the BBC.<\/p>\n

“And this does represent technology that could be useful for us.”<\/p>\n

The theft occurred on 21 March, during the day when Mr Kaufman was not at home in his Oakland flat.<\/p>\n

‘Hidden’ software<\/span><\/p>\n

He immediately reported the crime to Oakland police and the officer who took the report noted he said he had tracking software installed, Ms Joshi told the BBC.<\/p>\n

The software, called Hidden<\/a>, supplies to the owner the computer’s location, photographs taken on the Mac’s internal camera and shots of the Mac’s screen display.<\/p>\n

The programme immediately began sending Mr Kaufman photographs of a bearded man with shaggy dark hair sleeping on a couch, sitting shirtless on a bed in front of the computer, and driving.<\/p>\n

The software also send Mr Kaufman a screen shot showing the man logging into his own e-mail account – information investigators later used to lure him into an arrest.<\/p>\n

Mr Kaufman says he handed the evidence to Oakland investigators but did not get a response. Meanwhile, he began blogging about the theft on a site called thisguyhasmymacbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Marketing campaign rumour<\/span><\/p>\n

His ordeal – and Oakland police’s apparent disinterest in the case, even though Mr Kaufman said he could provide clues – attracted immediate attention from the US news media.<\/p>\n

“People started saying it was a viral campaign from us,” Hidden chief Toby De Havilland told the BBC.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, a producer with ABC television’s Good Morning America news and entertainment programme contacted Ms Joshi to inquire about the case.<\/p>\n

Ms Joshi contacted investigators and learned Mr Kaufman’s initial report had been filed in error with theft reports for which no leads existed to aid the investigation.<\/p>\n

About three hours after ABC’s call, Oakland police arrested Mr Aldebashi, who made “admission statements” indicating he knew the laptop was stolen, Ms Joshi said.<\/p>\n

Suspect lured<\/span><\/p>\n

Police were still investigating whether Mr Aldebashi committed the burglary, Ms Joshi said.<\/p>\n

Mr Kaufman wrote on his blog that investigators used information he provided – an e-mail address linked to a car service for which Mr Aldebashi was a driver – to lure the suspect into an arrest by pretending to hire a cab.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Mr De Havilland said the notoriety has driven interest in his product.<\/p>\n

“We’ve definitely noticed a spike,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Read More:
\nSoftware clues reveal Mac ‘thief’<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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